


Fantastic Tails of the Warrior of Light, featuring M'zhet Tia

by schakerin



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Friends to Lovers, I mean a bond, Lore Compliant, No Beta We Die Like Ascians, Other, Temporary Character Death, idiots to lovers, m'zhet tia forms a band, tagging is hard I don't want to do this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27707848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schakerin/pseuds/schakerin
Summary: The tale of the Warrior of Light, Zenos yae Galvus, Hydaelyn, and M'zhet Tia is there too. For emotional support.Rating and tags updated as necessary.(My character's name is Miah Molkot, which is the name of an NPC in-game that I didn't realize until several levels in. Thanks, name generator! This is not that NPC.)
Relationships: M'zhet Tia/Warrior of Light
Kudos: 3





	Fantastic Tails of the Warrior of Light, featuring M'zhet Tia

“Miah Molkot, would you do me the--” Miah snorted loudly. “DO. ME. THE HONOR. Of becoming one of the warriors of the M-tribe when I become nunh?”

The Warrior of Light and wandering Tia, M’zhet, were stretching together next to the Velodyna River after a light sparring session (well, light for one of them, not so much for the other) in a place where imperial patrols were rare and the wildlife had more sense than to approach someone exuding the amount of raw power as the Savior of Eorzea. They had been chatting amicably about any and every topic when the other young seeker had awkwardly steered the conversation toward his proposal.

Miah turned fully to face him, giving her full attention. The keeper wasn’t one for giving things too much thought, honestly, and she already knew what she would answer, but... It also might be fun to make him sweat a little. She could tell his confidence was genuine, but she could see a slight swishing of his tail that belied nervousness as well. _Cute_.

She acted as though she had to consider it deeply; closing her eyes and crossing her arms, _hmm-_ ing and flicking her tail, brows knit together. After a few long moments she cracked an eye to see M’zhet looking intently at her, ears forward, eyes wide. Miah grinned and met his eyes.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll be the first member of your tribe. _If_ you become nunh.”

M’zhet visibly perked up. “Really?! Er, yes, good! I expected no less of the Warrior of Light, you can tell a good thing when you see it!” He tried to act particularly dignified, but, yet again, his countenance betrayed him as his ears flicked in delight and a smile threatened to burst on his face. _Very cute_ . “H- wait, what do you mean ‘ _if_ ’? _When_ I become nunh! When, Miah!”

Miah continued on, “But let me be very clear! I’m not just gonna stay in one place and mother kits for you, I have responsibilities that will keep me away, and you will never keep me from them, got that?”

The seeker waved his hand as if brushing the notion away. “Don’t you worry!” He pointed a thumb at himself dramatically, “A good nunh doesn’t force his tribe to do anything they aren’t comfortable with!”

Wild gestures, posture, and grinning aside, Miah could tell he was being genuine, even without the help of the Echo. M’zhet was… Well, frankly, he wasn’t very bright, but he was many other things-- enthusiastic, optimistic, warm, big-hearted, _relentless_ \-- that Miah considered even more important as a leader, or as a friend. All of this is to say that she didn’t particularly feel the need to give his proposition a second thought. She trusted him, and even more than that, believed in him. She had a hunch he would achieve his goals in time, and she was usually right.

She smiled back at him easily and held up her hand to him, which he hooked with his own in return in a firm grasp.

They were interrupted by the sudden chime of her linkpearl, reminding her of the time.

“Oh, it seems I’m being summoned back to the Reach.”

“Oh, okay! Yes! It’s about time for me to head back too, I think,” he responded, making no move to let go of her hand. Miah stared at him and he stared back in open confusion for a moment before realizing. She let out a single laugh, then a soft sigh, full of fondness for the aspiring nunh.

Miah picked up her spear, leaned carefully against a rock nearby, and walked backward toward Rhalgr’s Reach, calling, “I’ll see you when I see you!” M’zhet smiled brightly and waved dramatically. She turned west and couldn’t help but think that her friend looked as remarkably bright and warm as the setting sun.

Miah lept gracefully for the nearest cliff face, then answered the relentless chirp of her linkpearl.

* * *

It had been a week since M’zhet had last seen Miah, but he wasn’t particularly worried-- she was a busy woman after all, the first member of his future tribe. He grinned to himself for perhaps the billionth time, a warmth blooming in his face and chest. The Warrior of Light believed in him! In _him_! If she thought he could become nunh, then he definitely would, even if only not to have her misplace her faith.

M’zhet hummed to himself as he soaped, scrubbed, and rinsed his clothes in Mirage creek, downstream from where the M-tribe kept their few fishing nets, but before it joined with the Velodyna River proper. He laid the last article of his few pieces of clothing to dry in the sun before stripping down completely and wading ankle-deep into the water himself.

He shivered to the tip of his tail and trilled loudly. The seeker always thought that he could accurately gauge the water’s temperature from washing his clothes first, but every time he was proven absolutely wrong, much to his discomfort. Still, the warm sun beat down on his back when he pulled his shirt off (he’d deal with that in a moment) and tossed it aside.

M’zhet shook out his limbs and sucked in a breath, preparing himself for the dip he’d need to take to wash his face. With one last shiver, he plunged into the water with his soap and began to thrash and lather, as was his ritual. The girls in the tribe had made fun of him for it on more than one occasion, but it kept him warm (mostly) and got him clean (well enough).

The sopping wet tia rose emerged from the shallow water roughly a minute later with a smug smile to himself. A cool breeze blew across him and he shivered. Which was kind of weird, since the sun had been so warm only a moment ago?

Then his nose was suddenly assaulted with the biting, acrid scent of burning ceruleum. M’zhet turned quickly toward Castellum Velodyna only to see it in all its glittering, garish, garlean-made metal glory, without a scratch, so it wasn’t a Resistance attack. Finally he noticed the huge plumes of blue-black smoke billowing from the northeast, from the direction of Rhalgr’s Reach. He stood still for several moments, trying to figure out _why_ the Resistance would be fighting imperials inside their own secret base of operations. Unless… M’zhet’s blood ran cold, ears flattened, tail fluffed.

An ambush! _Miah_!

He threw on the driest of his clothes and his boots and took off full sprint toward Rhalgr’s Reach. Luckily, running was perhaps his best skill (though it hurt M’zhet to admit it), and he arrived at the magicked barrier quickly, pushing through without trouble, and was faced with a hellscape.

The smell of burning ceruleum, supplies, and… other things he didn’t want to consider reached his senses first, followed by the realization that it would be incredibly hard to find the Warrior of Light amongst all the skirmishes, smoke, and wreckage. But gods, a good nunh was bold, and he had to make sure that his tribe-mate was alright!

The sharp sounds of metal on metal, the yells of the living, and the wails of the dying surrounded M’zhet as he bolted forward into the fray. He found himself weaving through clusters of fighting and trying his hardest not to trip over the numerous bodies that littered the ground. The Miqo’te tried his hardest not to keep tally of just how many of the bodies belonged to Resistance members, but the difference in number was truly staggering. He probably would have been sick if he’d stopped for more than the second it took to scan his surroundings.

M’zhet was approaching the other side of the camp by the time he spotted the glint of light off the edge of her spear as she hurtled viciously toward the ground in a controlled dive.

 _There_!

Sparks flew from Miah’s lance when it met with the edge of a long, thin blade, still in midair. At the end of the sword was a mountain of a man clad in heavy imperial armor whose mere presence screamed at M’zhet to _turn back lest he be killed on the spot_. Like many warnings, he ignored it, emboldened by the image of the imperial brushing the godsdamned Warrior of Light off to the side as if she were a fly.

Miah corrected herself in mid-air to land, but she landed on uneven footing and her ankle rolled beneath her, sending her rolling several fulms.

M’zhet was close, lungs burning with smoke and strain, as he watched her rise to one shaking knee. Her lance was back where she had tripped, fallen nearer to the metal-clad beast than the dragoon. Her opponent picked the spear up casually, gave it a few appraising looks, then took it in both gauntleted hands and snapped it in half, as if it were kindling for a fire.

He was _almost there_ when the Garlean took the last few steps to close the distance between them, raised his sword down into a savage arc, cutting through armor as if it was paper.

M’zhet was a million malms away, but somehow close enough still to hear a weak, wet cry leave his friend. The beast flicked the blood from his sword, sheathed it, and turned away.

Feet frozen to the spot, the seeker looked on in muted disbelief as numerous healers crowded around her body, sinking to their knees in the pool of blood slowly growing around her, frantically trying to replace the parts of her that should not have been on the outside back into her body, but their faces told M’zhet all he needed to know.

Miah Molkot was dead.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! The general premise of this has been bouncing around in my head for like, a year to explain my change from a girl keeper to a boy keeper, and then I realized I could do it in a fun, painful, lore-compliant way that ties into Zenos's story really well hehe. If. If I'm smart enough to tie it together.
> 
> Anyways, I shall try desperately not to leave this hanging for months. I promise. Super promise.  
> Thanks for reading! <3


End file.
